Arch wrote:


that's nothing to do with being a spoiled child that's pure bad parenting!

CA, I had mentioned that they had become very materialistic. I did give into them at that time but Ipad, macbook were not as common among the kids as today.
I did get them a phone at that time and smart phones were really not a big thing till 2-3 yrs ago. I was never in favor of buying them expensive phones but did under pressure and realized that I had made a mistake. He was in DESC and after a week someone stole it from his bag. He asked for another one and I had to put my foot down. In the states at 16 you start working and learn the value of money. Our kids really do not have that opportunity here.
I am very close to my kids. They will talk to me about anything and everything. When they need to talk to me its 'laundry time". We go in the laundry room and discuss any issues. That is our conference room, lol. When my daughter needs to talk its walk time. We go on a long walk and discuss whatever is bothering her. After 3 years my kids still bring up that road trip often.
As humans we always discuss the things that are the most dearest to us or bring up the best from our past. My kids tell everyone they meet about that memorable trip for 30 days. They have written about that trip in school essays and even for a college entrance essay he wrote about living in Hong Kong, Dubai, etc. and somehow managed to stick that road trip in somehow, lol.

When I moved to Dubai I wanted my kids to obviously get the best education but I must say it was very unfortunate that the better the facility the lower the standard of education. My kids have been to EIS, DESC, Greenfield (Green Community), and the list goes on. Teachers are also a big problem. They come and go throughout the school year. Unknowingly, I put my kids in a situation that they had started becoming more and more materialistic.I literaly had to shake myself and ask is this what I want for my kids.

oganicmom wrote:


But how do you know it is their best memory? If they never had the luxuries, then what do you mean?
(sorry, just NP)

Clairehdp wrote:

Sorry, my post was not in response to yours!! Yes, some parents raise their kids to judge people based on their wealth. Some posters here think that giving kids devices like iPads is bad parenting, I was just saying that it is not. Like you say, it is how they integrate with their peers that allows us to see what kind of parenting they have had.

Thanks for sharing your experience.

CAPTAIN AMERICA !! wrote:


Sorry you misunderstood I don't mean the i pads i mean the refusing to speak to other kids if they are not rich enough or don't drive the right car etc etc - that surely comes from parents and not kids - most young kids wouldn't know anything about designer shoes, clothes, car brands etc etc

my mother will be on the phone tonight in a panic lol...every time i mention that we have had a night out she gets all worried that i'm going to end up in jail "like all those people you read about in the paper"... lol
Best laugh we've had was a couple getting arrested for doing "it" on my parents' local beach and also in a nearby bus shelter (yep, classy area...)....so it's not just Dubai !! Big Grin

At least they used 'protection' aka the bus shelter !
edited by savvyB on 17/05/2012

oh dear, doesn't sound good. My sister in law is very shy and not at all a good candidate for such things!! The baby is getting quite big now and they're worried about him getting tooo big. Is the clean and sweep the first course of action or can they do an inducement if it's deemed too traumatic for someone like my SIL?